Factors involved in the release of transmitter substances at mammalian junctional regions

Abstract

The subject under investigation in this thesis presupposes that transmission across junctional regions is by means of a chemical substance- a transmitter. The basic idea of chemical transmission, that a nerve impulse releases a chemical substance from nerve endings, is now more than fifty years old,. In its genesis, proof and development many have been concerned, but the contributions of Elliott, Loewi and Dale have proved outstanding. It was Elliott (1904,1905) who, struck by the resemblance between the effects of adrenaline and sympathetic nerve stimulation, suggested that nerve endings might liberate a chemical substance which 'could act on a cell to modify its existing activity or start a new event.' (First paragraph of Introduction). Show more